Belt.



N. D. HAWKINS, JR.

BELT.

=PPLICATION mm OCT. 9, 1916.

Patented Mar. 11, 1919.

means have been suggested for ad usting names.

STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

NonilnN r pg fifiAwxrNs, .13., or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 HAWKINS vIsInL 'BnL'r COMPANY, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION :01"

Specification of Letters Patent.

BELT.

Patented Mar. 11, 1919.

Continuation of application Serial No. 44,207, filed August 7, 1915. This application filed October 9, 1916. f Serial No. 124,493.

To all z'ztmag concern:

Be it known that I, NORMENT D. HAW- KINS, J1.',"21 citizen of the United States, andpa resldentof Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Belts; and I do hereby declare the following towbe a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

'My "invention pertains to trousers-supportingbelts, and relates especially to belts which are to be used inside the trousers.

The ordinary exterior belt has the disadvantage that its supporting eflect is obtained by 'a gripping action around the body of thewearerat an appreciable distance above theyhips. This. gripping action is reductive of comfort, and injurious to health.

If'the belt-wereplaced lower on the trousers,

so as 'to'eng'age the hips and thereby avoid the above disadvantage, the arrangement would be too unsightly for use. It has been proposed to-provide a belt adapted to be placed'within the trousers, and having uprights for connection with the exterior trousers buttons; but such belts, in the form in which it 'has'been heretofore proposed to make'them,-have been of complicated constructions, including rigid parts which.

would be uncomfortable in wear, and, where theheight of the trousers, such adjusting means have "been of a complex nature and have involved inwardly projecting parts which would be very'uneasy to the wearer.

It is an object of my.invention to provide a belt of the character in whichthe band is located within the trousers and is connected with" the trousers-buttons by uprights, which A will be of a simple and economical construction, which will be durable in use, and which will be comfortable to wear. It is another object of my invention to produce a belt of the above character the construction of which will be such as to permit easy adjustment of the height of the trousers. And other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following specification, taken in connection with the claims forming part thereof.-

By way of example, I have described one form which my invention may take, in the length, havin fixed to one end thereof one part, while slidably adjustable on the other' end is the other part of a buckle A hereinafter fully described.

The buckle A as mounted on the belt permits the fastening of the strap or band 5 about the waist of the wearer, and also allows the tightening thereof when required. Secured, by stitching, at intervals to the strap or band 5 are casings or coverings 6, made from flexible material, which are of a length to project the desired distance beyond the upper edge of the strap or band 5. These casings contain resilient, but relatively stifi, stays 7, preferably made from whalebone, each having metallic reinforcements or edge protectors 8, which latter prevent the said stays from cutting through the casings or coverings 6 therefor, or otherwise unduly wearing away the same when the belt is in use.

.Swingingly connected to the free ends of the uprights constituted by the stays and casings, are button-engaging loops 9 for the connection thereof with buttons 10 which are fastened interiorly of the trousers B at the waist .line thereof when the belt is to be worn.

The buckle A comprises a duplex looplike slide 11 which is adjustably connected to the strap or band 5 on one end portion thereof, the slide being formed with a yoke 12 medially thereof. In this yoke is formed an arrow-shaped bill 13, while the other part of the buckle comprises a loop member 14 formed with resilient hook-like ends 15 which are adapted to engage in the yoke 12 for the fastening of the two parts of the buckle together, the bills 13 being designed to spread the hook ends 15 when fastening the two parts of the buckle. The part of the buckle having the bills 13 is permanently fixed to the other end of the strap or band 5 constituting the belt. It is of course to be understood that any other type of buckle may be employed if found desirable.

in the use of the belt the strap or band 5 is placed about the Waist band of the trousers with .the button engaging loops 9 pointing downwardly and disposed over inside Suspender buttons 10 for detachable engagement thereof within the same by pressing the loops with the thumb and fingers over the said buttons, and thereafter the strap or band 5 is turned to invert the same, whereby the stays will be projected upwardly from the strap or band 5, the latter, together with the stays, being now inside the trousers B so that on the adjustment of the buckle the parts thereof can be fastened together for the securing of the belt about the waist of the user.

In the use of the belt described above, the band 5 rests upon the hips of the wearer, which does away .with thel necessity of tightening the belt to such an extent as to cause discomfort or be injurious to health. \Yith the band thus resting on the hips, the upper edge of the trousers is held in position by the uprights consisting of the stays 7 and casings (3. if it is desired to adjust the height at which the trousers are supported, this may be effected by increasing or decreasing the length of the band by manipulating the buckle A. The effect of increasing the length of the band will be to allow the latter to slip somewhat farther down upon the hips, which will result in the trousers being supported on a lower plane; if the length of the band be decreased, the latter will not slip so far down upon the hips, and the trousers will consequently be held in a higher position. The possibility of thus adjusting the height of the trousers by a simple adjustment of the length of the band is due to the nonelasticity of the band.

The belt described above is of an extremely simple construction; and its parts of such a nature, and so put together, that the belt may be placed on the market at a very low cost. it will be observed, moreover, that the only rigid part of the belt is the buckle met gee A; the stays 7, while suliicie-ntly stiff to exercise their supporting function, being yet sufficiently resilient to accommodate themselves to the person of the wearer. The device thus presents no parts which could cause discomfort durin Wear.

Having thus ully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A belt of the character described comprising a flat single ply band made from flexible non-elastic fabric material of uniform width throughout its length, cooperative buckle members adjustably and detachably connecting the ends of the band, casements fixed at intervals to one face of the band to project vertically a distance beyond the upper edge thereof and stitched to provide sleeve-like free ends, relatively stifl' resilient stays within the easements, rigid loop members loosely engaged in the sleevelike free ends of the easements beyond the stays, and reinforcements on the ends of the stays interior-1y of the easements.

2. The combination with trousers having buttons adjacent the upper edge thereof, of a belt including a band adapted to lie within the trousers below the buttons, uprights for supporting the trousers from said band, means for securing said uprights to said band, said securing means comprising fabric casings, one inclosing each upright, secured to said band, and wire button-engaging loops having portions thereof sewed int said casings so as to form a hinged connection therewith, for the purposes set. forth.

I). A garment supporter comprising a belt, a plurality of upwardly-extending stay members secured to said belt, and a rigid attaching member hingedly associated with each of said stay members.

l. A garment supporter comprising a belt of flexible material, a plurality of uprights secured to said belt, each of said uprights including a stay member, a casing inclosing said stay member, and a rigid attaching device pivotally secured to the free end of each upright.

In testimony whereof I, the said Non- MENT D. l lAWKINS, Jr., have hereunto set my hand.

NORTQIENT D. HAWKINS, JR. Witness A. D. P. MILLER. 

